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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Warming And Immunity Boosting Herbal Blend For Dogs

I love making my own herbal blends for my dogs, cats, and for us as well.

I totally love the fact that I am able to pick or grow many of the plants myself, on the meadows and in the woods right here, around our homestead, and know they are truly "organic", growing in unpolluted nature in the best imaginable conditions.

And having the total freedom to mix them precisely to the needs of the individual animal, or to address a certain nutritional requirement during a specific period of time.

For example based on the degree of training activity our sled dogs are at, the time of the year, their shedding period, etc.

And because we have now been experiencing the coldest months of the winter time, with temperatures dropping often down to -30°C, it is definitely a time when an extra boost of the immune system is in order.

Food with warming effect, not only temperature wise (we always feed warm meals twice a day during the fall and winter season) is a key to keeping the dogs warm and healthy during the cold snaps.

We often add steamed oat flakes to the puppies´s and senior dogs´ meals, and we use warming and immune system boosting herbs daily for the entire kennel. On the picture above you can see how easy it actually is to incorporate the herbs into your dog´s dish - just add them to the oat flakes and pour over boiling water, then let rest for a few minutes under a lid, before adding it to the meat.

To make life even easier and to cut time of the food preparation, you can make an herbal blend in advance, for example for one week. Don´t do too much at once, because this blend is not to use long term, only during the cold snaps to keep your dogs warm and healthy.

Here is my formula:

WARMING AND IMMUNITY BOOSTING HERBAL BLEND

from Katerina´s Canine Kitchen

4 table spoons ground Rose Hips

4 table spoons Echinnacea

4 table spoons Chamomille

2 table spoons Garlic powder

1,5 tea spoons Ginger powder

Mix all thoroughly in a glass jar, close tightly and store on a dry place away from direct sun light.

DOSAGE: 1/2 table spoon per medium sized dog (15-25kg) twice a day. For small dogs feed half amount, for large and giant dogs double the dosage.

This formula is safe to feed to puppies from 10 weeks of age.

I usually make this amount, which lasts me for exactly one week for four medium sized dogs. If you have a smaller dog, you may want to mix the blend from only half of the listed amounts of herbs, to have a fresh blend that doesn´t sit on your kitchen shelf for too long.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line a comment or send me an email.

Wishing you and your four legged companions a great winter and loads of health and happiness!